— Offensive linemen rank 1-2-3 (Jim Otto, Art Shell and Gene Upshaw) and that sounds about right, because great Raiders teams were all about the offensive line. All were Hall of Famers, and although Otto may not have been as accomplished as Shell or Upshaw, he represents Raiders toughness.

— Jim Plunkett is No. 5, Ken Stabler No. 9. Plunkett was a great story and a great leader, but I’m a Stabler man from way back. Built-in bias from seeing so many of his games as a teenager.

— Marcus Allen at No. 17? Hardly seems possible, but look at the list, factor in the fact that his Hall of Fame credentials weren’t cemented until he finished up at Kansas City, and maybe it’s about right.

— George Atkinson was a smallish strong safety who backed down to no one and delivered more than he took (ask Russ Francis), but No. 22 seems high.

— Chester McGlockton at No. 49. Realize there were some good L.A. years before he got to Oakland and went in the tank over his contract, but my sentimental pick to squeeze in at the end of the list is Tyrone Wheatley, whose unforgettable touchdown in Kansas City to close out the 1999 season served as a springboard to three division titles.

Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

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Chris in NY Says:
August 9th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
HayesDaze37 Says:
August 9th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Marcus was a great player…who only locked his place in history because of his amazing performance in the Super Bowl (much like Swann). I loved watching the way he ran that football…the way he glided sometimes, especially at the goal line.

But, had he not padded his stats while NOT WINNING ANYTHING IN K.C. (even though the Raiders gave away the division for almost a decade)…Marcus would’ve been just another good/sometimes-great long-term back like Curtis Martin was for the NYJ. And Curtis Martin may or may not be great enough for HOF consideration.

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Marcus only locked his place in history because of amazing SB performance?
Huh?
Marcus began his pro career as the NFL Rookie of the Year and ended as the game’s all-time rushing touchdown leader.

Here..read the following exert, then apologize for being un-informed.

At the time of his retirement following the 1997 season, he held the single-season record for most rushing and receiving yards combined (2,314), second in consecutive 100-yard games, and was third in career-combined yardage. During his 11 seasons with the Raiders, was named to the Pro Bowl five times. He added a sixth appearance in 1994, as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.

He was the Raiders leading ground gainer seven consecutive years and the Chiefs four consecutive times. He even led the Raiders in receptions with 51 in 1987. Allen’s big-game performance in Super Bowl XVIII when the Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins 38-9 earned the then-second-year player game MVP honors. In that game he rushed for 191 yards and scored two touchdowns, one a Super Bowl record 74-yard gallop.

Allen’s finest season came in 1985, as he led the league with 1,759 rushing yards on 380 carries for a 4.6 yards per carry average and 11 touchdowns. He also caught 67 passes for 555 yards and scored an additional three touchdowns. For his performance he was rewarded with league MVP honors.

In 1995, Marcus made NFL history when he became when he became the first player in league history to rush for over 10,000 yards and catch passes for 5,000 more. As further evidence of his versatility, Allen completed 12 of 27 passes for 282 yards and six touchdowns during his career.

In 15 career playoff games, he carried the ball 267 times for 1,347 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging an impressive 5.0 yards per carry average. He also added 52 catches for 522 yards and two receiving touchdowns.

Richochet

Dmac20 Says:
August 9th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
The raiders are better than the chiefs. last year we beat them pretty handedly in that 1st (courtesy of dmac 164 yrds). And even the year B4 then we beat them in arrowhead and they stole one from us in oakland. And yes we lost to them last year, but they didnt beat us we beat ourselves. The raiders came out a lil too confident that game if you ask me.

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A little too confident?

the Raiders?

The ’08 Raiders, with Russell behind center?

THAT TEAM??

What are you? A comedian? How could the Raiders ever have gone onto the field “confident”?

No ricochet they were confident. Trust me I watch every raider game I know what im talking about. All the trick plays and fake field goals looked of a team that was too confident. They would have never tried those plays on the patriots or steelers… So what does that tell you? They had beaten the chiefs before already in the season and they had won only one game up to that point. The raiders whole demanor that game was as if “we’ve got this one in the bag.” And you say “kc beat you” as if you’re not a raiders fan, and if you’re not a raiders fan i’d like to ask why are you on here???

I always read the articles and rarely the comments because it seems that more often than not the people posting;
1) bash the Raiders/ Al Davis
2) talk about basketball or baseball
3) bash other posters…

WTF is wrong with people? Step away from the computer and go get some air.

Richochet

Was more a case of Cable calling the most unlikely to be successful trick play of the year, that became the difference in winning or losing.
You stated the Raiders came out too confident.
Then proceeded to say the coach called a bad game.
That’s not the same as coming out confident, at all.
Team played flat, pretty much like most of the year.

Again, the team had ZERO reasons to feel confident, considering how the season went so far.

Again, it’s a copout to state “they didn’t win it, we lost it”

Dmac20

Beyond the calls i also stated their demeanor was of a team who by all means just knew they were going to win.and to say the way the season went is no reason for them to be confident is a bad argument. If that was the case they would have not won those last 2 games because according to you they had no confidence in themselves that they could do so… Also your argument is weak because that game in which they lost to the chiefs came after a 35-10 victory over the broncos in donkeyville.

Dmac20

so they had every reason to be confident. At the time the broncos were the top team in the AFC west and the raiders werent officially out of the playoff race. They had beatin the chiefs before and the chiefs had only won one game… So why wouldnt they be confident they could beat the chiefs?? Your talking as if the chiefs are the chargers or patriots. Please dont argue raiders with me because you will not win. (;

Dmac20

And saying we beat ourselves is not a cop out its the truth. The raiders gave that game away. It wasnt like the chiefs were playing great defense, running all over us, and throwing touchdowns. The radiers actually had more yards and played d its just the raiders made some costly mistakes and they capitolized. we left alot of points on the board because we were tryin things we things we felt we could get away with just because we were playing a lesser team. If it were anyother team theyd of played it safe.

Dmac20

And why would they have played it safe??? Because they were less confident in their abilities/ and things they could get away with. And they even mentioned how confident they were because of the things they went over in practice…